It was a desperate plea from a tearful dad , tossed like a message in a bottle into the vast sea of the Internet .

`` You ever do something crazy because you just do n't know what to do anymore ? Well , that 's what I 'm doing right now , '' said John Berlin , staring into the camera with moist , red-rimmed eyes .

`` I 'm calling out to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook , '' he continued . `` You 've been putting out these new movies , these one-minute movies that everyone 's been sharing . Well , my son passed away ... and we ca n't access his Facebook account . I 've tried e-mailing , and different things , but it ai n't working . All we want to do is see his movie .

`` I know it 's a shot in the dark , but I do n't care , '' he said , his voice breaking . `` I want to see my son 's video . His name 's Jesse Berlin . So please help me . ''

The Arnold , Missouri , man shot the emotionally raw , 84-second clip on his phone and posted it Wednesday morning to YouTube and Facebook . By late afternoon it had hundreds of thousands of views and he was deluged with Facebook messages .

Then , that night , Facebook called .

As Berlin listened , stunned , they told him would indeed make a personalized `` A Look Back '' video for Jesse , using posts he had made public on Facebook before his death in 2012 at age 21 . Now Berlin is planning to share it online as a tribute to his late son .

`` I just wanted a piece of him , '' he told CNN in a phone interview . `` These -LRB- Facebook -RRB- videos really touched me . And every time Jesse would pop up -LRB- in one of them -RRB- , I was choking back tears . I just wanted so desperately to see how his video would turn out . ''

Facebook created the customized videos for most of its active users Tuesday to celebrate its 10th anniversary . The 62-second clips note the year the user joined Facebook , then show a handful of their most-liked posts and a seemingly random selection of their photos -- all set to instrumental music .

A Facebook spokesperson said Berlin 's video came to the attention of a staffer Wednesday , who shared it on an internal network .

`` With the number of people using our service , it 's often very difficult to act on behalf of one . But John 's story and emotion moved us to take action -- so we did , '' the spokesperson said .

Facebook realizes that by granting Berlin 's wish , they risk being deluged with similar requests from other users wanting to see video highlights of their deceased loved ones . Honoring all the requests would be difficult , but where do you draw the line ? It 's a thorny question .

The Facebook spokesperson would not address this issue directly . But he said Facebook , which introduced `` memorial '' pages for deceased users in 2009 , wants to give users better ways to honor their loved ones on the site .

`` This experience reinforced to us that there 's more Facebook can do to help people celebrate and commemorate the lives of people they have lost , '' he said . `` We 'll have more to share in the coming weeks and months . ''

John Berlin said his son Jesse died of natural causes in his sleep on the morning of January 28 , 2012 . Doctors could not pinpoint the cause of death , although he was told a viral infection may have impacted Jesse 's heart , he said .

Jesse Berlin was a musician and played rhythm guitar in Fivefold , a popular Missouri rock band .

`` Jesse was all about having fun , '' his father said . `` We 'd always say our hobby was laughing . We would just cut up about everything . ''

He is also survived by his mother , Lisa , sister Nicole , 26 , and brother Jared , 21 .

John Berlin posted Jesse 's `` A Look Back '' video on Friday to YouTube and his Facebook page , where it 's been liked and shared thousands of times .

Berlin still ca n't believe his unassuming video appeal , which now has more than 2.7 million views and 7,500 comments , got Facebook 's attention from a small town in the Midwest .

But he hopes that his story will inspire Facebook to help others like him and ease their access to the accounts of late loved ones .

`` I 'm glad that we 're finding purpose in Jesse 's death , '' he said . `` I ca n't express how much this means to me . ''

@highlight

Missouri dad posts emotional video asking Facebook to share video of his late son

@highlight

Family wanted to see son 's edition of the `` Look Back '' clips Facebook posted this week

@highlight

Facebook has agreed to honor his request

@highlight

John Berlin said his son Jesse died in 2012 of natural causes at age 21